SW Recipes Review thread

I have just made the Pakistani Masala Macchi Kebabs from the Taste of Asia Cookbook and they were absolutely delicious. I almost didn't make them because the next page in the book has a delicious looking teriyaki salmon, and it was a tough decision which recipe would be used for the piece of salmon I had waiting.

So I have decided to start a SW recipe review thread and rate the recipes I have tried out of the official SW recipe books. My ratings will include the book title (I don't have all of them by any means), and the exact recipe title as it appears in the book for ease of forum searches.

As discussed in a previous thread elsewhere sometimes the recipes work and sometimes they don't. Sometimes they appeal to our taste buds and sometimes they don't, so I would like to invite any other opinions on these recipes to give chefs the most information if they are thinking of trying out some of the recipes. So many times I would have liked to know what others think of a particular recipe before I try it.

I'll rate the recipes on how easy they are, any changes I made, side dishes, syn values and of course flavour. Please feel free to add your comments.

Recipe review: Pakistani Masala Macchi Kebabs (Taste of Asia recipe book - page 36)

- Difficulty: very easy

- Syns: free on EE and original, 18 syns on Green

- Timing: very quick to mix the marinade, needs at least 30 minutes marinading time (although I made them in the morning and left them to marinade the whole day to fit in around my schedule), cooking time approx. 10 minutes

- Extras / side dishes: I made the Pakistani salad recommended by the recipe which was a perfect accompaniment - the lime juice complimented the kebabs beautifully

- Did I change anything? I didn't blend the marinade ingredients, but simply chopped the herbs and added them - saved time on washing up the blender. Blending would have made the herbs more finely chopped but I don't think this would have affected the flavour. I left the kebabs to marinade all day instead of 30 minutes.

- Comments: the grilled peppers got some caramelised edges and became sweet, the salad with the lime juice was perfect to cut through the rich fish and peppers. Subtle flavours and absolutely delicious.

Would I make it again? Absolutely yes!

Recipe review: Sri Lankan Yellow Beef Curry (Taste of Asia recipe book - page 55)

- Difficulty: easy

- Syns: 1 syn on EE and original, 13 syns on Green

- Timing: about 15 minutes chopping and prep, and 1 hour cooking

- Extras / side dishes: basmati rice

- Did I change anything? I used veal instead of beef because I found some on special, I used red and yellow peppers because I didn't have enough red pepper

- Comments: Ho hum, a nice curry, very mild and the meat was very tender. I thought the butternut squash went too mushy and would add it later if I make this again, so it will hold its shape and have some texture. I think it needs more curry kick, but that is the Durban girl in me.

Would I make it again? If I fancy a beef curry I would probably try something different next time, simply for variety. This was okay, quite tasty but not quite hitting the spot for a 'I absolutely love it and cant wait to try it again' category.